Casualties of War
by Katako-Chan
Summary: Tsunade goes out to see the aftermath of the final battle of Leaf versus Sound. Implied NejiTen, ShikaIno, SasuSaku, NaruHina


**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto. If I did, Sasuke wouldn't have left. Blah blah, etc.

Tsunade leaped from tree to tree with the rest of the medical team, wearing the uniform of an ordinary medical ninja. The only give away was her blonde pigtails and her large bosom. They were rushing to a large clearing perhaps only 800 meters outside of Konoha; and the site of the last battle of Leaf versus Sound. From the rumors of Orochimaru's army's strength, every ninja would be unconscious…or worse.

They reached the clearing; the medical teams immediately fanning out to take in the situation, count the dead, and heal the injured. Tsunade, however, stood on the limb of a tree, concealed by the great shadowing branches.

Her eyes flickered from one limp, broken body to the next; all of which she knew by name. From her position, she couldn't tell if they were dead or alive, but not one was left uninjured. Hatake Kakashi, Yuuhi Kurenai, Mitarashi Anko, Shirunai Genma, Namiashi Raidou, and many more. Yamanaka Inoichi, Nara Shikaku and Yoshino, Akimichi Chouza, the list of ninja went on and on. Tsunade knew that a fair few would be dead, others left in a comatose state, while the majority where simply unconscious with major injuries. They would pull through, these Jounin and Chuunin. The ANBU she had no need to worry about, very few would be dead.

Her eyes riveted to the other half of the clearing, where a much more emotional battle had raged. These younger ninja were no less skilled than their former teachers and elders, but they were young, and this battle had opened up old wounds.

The first thing that caught her attention among the bodies, both alive and dead, was a shock of bright pink. Bright pink…Sakura's hair. Tsunade focused on the unconscious kunoichi, the situation she had been in before going unconscious laid out before her like a game board.

Sakura, unconscious, obviously injured, was still loosely clutching the a white shirt on…Uchiha Sasuke? The missing-nin? The thought was ridiculous. But there he was, in the flesh, the infamous Uchiha Sasuke. Not far from the pair was a battered Itachi, his Akatsuki coat torn, and finally dead. Tsunade assumed that Sasuke had killed Itachi and was now either dead himself, or heavily injured.

_These young ninja._ She thought, _They pour their emotion into a battle, and yet, they seem to still make it through everything._

Her gaze continued to scan the one half of the clearing where, clearly, the more important and finalizing battle had been going on. The young ninja she had come to know seemed to have settled their anger and pain, but not without sacrifice. Inuzuka Kiba lay sprawled on top of his beloved nin-dog, Akamaru, his left leg twisted awkwardly. The ground around Aburame Shino was littered with his chakra-eating bugs, giving the appearance of pepper to the earth. Akimichi Chouji had narrow ditches dug around him, and the evening sun glinted off the shiny inside of a chip bag. Rock Lee seemed to have single-handedly taken down at least five Sound ninja by himself, disturbing the environment in the process, but had passed out, and was possibly dead, from the effects of opening gates.

_It's sad to see these promising, energetic, young ninja so broken. As Hokage, it hurts to see your shinobi lying upon the ground after a battle…_

Yes, Tsunade thought it very painful to have to see the ninja who had so faithfully defended Konoha lying prostate in the dirt. The guilt and sense of responsibility washing over her was incredibly overwhelming, but it wasn't the worst. The worst was seeing the ninja who had loved, or did love. If they were on the field together, they somehow managed to collapse so you knew they shared something special, whether their fingers tangled together or they had fallen protecting each other. But if they were missing someone, their body looked half-complete on the ground, even if their limbs were intact. Tsunade thought these unconscious and dead ninja were the saddest to see of all.

Yuuhi Kurenai was a very good example. If you stared at her broken form, you could have sworn you saw Asuma lying next to her, maybe even cradling her in her arms. But then you would blink, and it would only be Kurenai: dirt, sweat, and blood smeared on her. Lonely, and un-complete.

Tsunade ran her gaze over the clearing again; her heart clenching slightly each time she saw one of the aforementioned couples. Naruto, lying in a heap, with his fingers laced with Hyuuga Hinata's. Haruno Sakura, her hand fisted in Sasuke's robe as if to keep him close to her. Hyuuga Neji, usually so stoic, his arms wrapped around a limp Tenten. And Nara Shikamaru and Yamanaka Ino, both leaning against one tree.

(3 days later)

Tsunade sat in her office, once again rubbing her temples. The scene was not at abnormal; the elders could be irritating, Naruto could be obnoxious, and the mission requests could be ridiculous. But today was an entirely different reason. A sheet of paper sat on her desk, bearing names. Names, simply names. Names of the dead. Names of those who had died in the final battle only 72 hours ago.

She had read the list many, many times. So many times in fact, that the picture of it had been etched into her heart; the names repeating themselves in an endless torment.

"葉忍者が死んでいます" Konoha Ninja Dead

"油女シノ",Aburame Shino

"秋道チョウジ" Akimichi Chouji

"秋道チョウザ" Akimichi Chouza

"エビス" Ebisu

"犬塚ハナ" Inuzuka Hana

"神月イズモ" Kamizuki Izumo

"マイトガイ" Maito Gai

"並足ライドウ," Namiashi Raidou

"奈良シカク" Nara Shikaku

"テンテン" Tenten

"山城アオバ" Yamashiro Aoba

"夕日紅" Yuuhi Kurenai

"注目に値する人と行方不明の忍者が死んでいます" Notable People and Missing Ninja Dead

"干柿鬼鮫" Hoshigaki Kisame

"大蛇丸" Orochimaru

"うちはイタチ," Uchiha Itachi

"うちはサスケ" Uchiha Sasuke

The war had been painful. Ninja Tsunade knew that had been "important people to protect" to many had died. The aftermath of Leaf versus Sound would very slowly unclench its fist from around Konoha.

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**Author's Note:** Heehee…this was one of the plot bunnies inside the plot bunny prison. I plan to write some side stories to this one. PLEASE REVIEW! I'll give you a cookie. 


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